Saturday, September 19, 2015

Paul Fromm's Annus Horribilis: Part II

When we posted the news release regarding the anti-fascists' efforts to oppose the PEGIDA Canada rally planned for today, we received some comments condemning our efforts to deny the free speech rights of the participants. We would argue that opposing PEGIDA Canada publicly isn't so much denying them their freedoms as it is showing them that the majority of people believe they are Islamophobic assholes, thus engaging in their freedoms as well. We would further add that we aren't the ones organizing the counter-protests, but we do support the efforts of those opposing PEGIDA Canada.

One of the folks who has commented on ARC promoting the counter rally was our good friend Paulie:

Since you can read the message he is referring to here, we won't bother with that part of Paulie's missive, but we can't say we feel a lot of love from him.

But this part kind of amuses us:

Not sure how a request to bring blags, banners, and noise-makers is a call for violence. Sounds more like a plan to disrupt the PEGIDA Canada event with noise and sounds. Still, it is sort of rich that Paulie is complaining about the anti-fascists plan to disrupt the PEGIDA Canada event when Paulie himself has a history of disrupting opposing rallies and speaking engagements himself back in the 1970s as a founding member of the Edmund Burke Society:Toronto, ON – William Kunstler assaulted by members of the Edmond Burke SocietyAttorney for the Chicago 7 William Kunstler was assaulted and slightly injured during a speech in Toronto after members of the Edmund Burke Society stormed the stage. Prior to the assault the Burkers had been heckling Kunstler so a spokesperson was invited to state the groups views. Paul Fromm took the stage and poured water over Kunstler’s notes, resulting in Kunstler pouring water over Fromm.

Toronto, ON – Edmund Burke Society precipitate riot“In May 1970 the Burkers counter-demonstrated against ‘the last of the big Communist anti-Vietnam war demonstrations in Toronto’ … The ensuing violence resulted in widespread damage to property, numerous injuries, and almost 100 arrests, 90 per cent of them supposedly left-wingers, the remainder Edmund Burke Society supporters. In later years, it was revealed that the rampaging demonstrators and the destruction actually were precipitated by Edmund Burke Society infiltrators into the left-wing ranks. The purpose was to discredit the anti-American peacenik movement.” (Barrett, 59)Toronto, ON – Edmund Burke Society associates arrested for assassination plotPolice arrested two men after receiving tips of a plot to assassinate Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin in Toronto. Raids on a number of homes of several Edmond Burke Society members yielded weapons and what spokesperson Paul Fromm characterized as, “equipment.” Earlier in the week Edmund Burke Society member Geza Matrai attacked Kosygin while the Soviet premier was visiting Ottawa.Toronto, ON – Edmund Burke Society members attack audience in Convocation Hall, University of Toronto“Quebec labour leader Michel Chartrand and lawyer Robert Lemieux, referred to later by a former Burker… as FLQ communists, were the targets. As the Toronto Daily Star (29 March 1971) described it, Edmund Burke Society members hurled a stink bomb, threw stones through windows, and sprayed the hall with a mace-like substance. The building caretaker had to be treated for temporary blindness, and a Toronto Telegraph reporter also hospitalized after being kicked in the head and abdomen.” (Barrett, 60)

Barrett, Stanley R. Is God a Racist? The Right Wing in Canada. University of Toronto Press: Toronto. 1989.

And given his support for the likes of the Aryan Guard/Blood & Honour, Volksfront, National Socialist Movement, Klan, etc, it's sort of hard to take Paulie all that seriously.

The ARC Collective

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A group of diverse but like-minded individuals, the members of ARC have come together in their common desire to fight hatred, bigotry, intolerance and violence because of the harm these antisocial behaviors cause to our society. In that effort, we will not use or sanction the use of illegal actions (such as violence or intimidation) in pursuit of our desired aims and if we learn of anyone who does use these unethical methods we will report those individuals to the authorities. Instead, we will use the guarantees found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that ensure freedom of legal speech and expression.

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